Fire crews from Epsom and Chertsey, police and Highways Agency were called to the clockwise junction, between junctions 9 (Leatherhead) and 10 (A3) at 7am.

Two lanes were closed along with the entry slip road at junction 9 due to the fire.

A firefighter from Chertsey, which was the first crew on the scene, said: "It was going well. The police had to shut the motorway because of the smoke and the fuel was leaking out and there were concerns there would be a running fire.

"The driver was fine, he managed to get out and save some of his belongings. We were delayed in getting there, we had some people blocking the hard shoulder."

Fire crews put out the car fire on the M25 at junction 9 (Image: Craig O'Donnell)

Another firefighter from Epsom added: "It was a big old car fire. By the time we got there, because traffic was so heavy, a lot of the car had been destroyed. It was still roaring when we got there."

Both of Epsom's fire crews had to travel down to Cobham Services to turn round.

"We could see the smoke and it was a goer," he added.

During the afternoon fire, the exit slip road was closed until around 2.40pm and lane one remained closed before 3pm.

Queues backed up to junction 10, for the A3 (Wisley interchange).

Traffic was said to have improved but "residual delays" remained.

To stay up-to-date with the latest news, traffic & travel and headlines, see our daily Surrey Live blog.